


A visit from Dr Strange

by RoxasItsuka



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), WandaVision (TV)
Genre: Angst, Guilt, Insecure Wanda, Self-Loathing, Stephen Strange is There to Help, Wanda Maximoff Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 02:27:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30082056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoxasItsuka/pseuds/RoxasItsuka
Summary: Living in the mountains in seclusion, Wanda is visited by Dr Strange to discuss the events of Westview. ONE-SHOT.
Relationships: Wanda Maximoff & Stephen Strange
Comments: 14
Kudos: 34





	A visit from Dr Strange

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything
> 
> There is a poll up on my page to decide what story idea I will try out next. Please vote if you are interested.
> 
> I recently finished watching WandaVision and I have to say I loved it. The series really fleshed out Wanda and Visions characters, courtesy of their actor's amazing performances, in an amazing way.
> 
> Like many, I was disappointed that Mephisto wasn't behind the events or that Dr Strange didn't show up, however, at the same time I was relieved neither occurred. Agatha was a witch serving herself and had her own goals while Wanda took an active role and dealt with the problem herself.
> 
> I know I said I was busy with college and still am but I felt I needed to write this while WandaVision was still a recent topic.
> 
> This one-shot is just a little idea I had considering this show ties directly into Dr Strange Multiverse of Madness. It sort of explains my opinion on what happened throughout the show, which I will get into more detail at the end.
> 
> Without further ado.

Wanda flipped through the pages of the book, the Darkhold as Agatha called it, for any information she could find on her powers.

Like Agatha or Agnes, as she had left her said, there was an entire chapter dedicated to the _Scarlet Witch_ , though she was having a little trouble believing the contents.

When she first started reading, she was surprised when the words of the text appeared in Sokovian. However, given that it was magic (she couldn't believe she was using that term now) she assumed it had been designed to provide its knowledge in the reader's first language.

As she read through the contents, she became disturbed. It explained what the Scarlet Witch was and what she was supposed to do, however, she did not want to believe it. What she had done to Westview was bad enough, but to destroy the world! She could not see herself doing that, not ever.

Or rather she hoped.

Deciding to take a break, Wanda returned to her body as the kettle just finished boiling.

The cabin she was living in was built by herself. It wasn't much, but it was off the grid, away from everyone else. It was better this way, not just for her, but everyone else. As long as she couldn't control her powers, she was a danger to everyone.

At least here, they were safe from her. No one could find her here.

Or so she _had_ thought.

Wanda was alerted to the sound of sizzling behind her as an orange light illuminated the room. She turned and saw a man coming out of a portal dressed in peculiar garments with a serious expression.

"Wanda Maximoff?" he asked in a stern voice.

"Who are you?" she shot back while readying energy in her right hand.

He looked familiar to her but she couldn't think of where. If he was here for a fight, she would gladly oblige.

"I am Dr Steven Strange," he introduced himself. "I was there in the battle against Thanos, and then Stark's funeral."

Wanda's eyes widened. She remembered seeing him among the others attending Tony's funeral but had not spoken with him.

"I remember," she admitted. "Why are you here?"

"I have some questions for you about the events of Westview," he explained.

Wanda tensed somewhat. She hadn't kept track of what was going on in the world but she had a very good idea of what the recent headlines were.

"From the residents and authorities reports, particularly Ms Rambeau's, I know what you did. What I don't know why there were remnants of a high level of concentrated magical energy," Strange explained. "Energy created from a very rare and dangerous brand of magic."

"You mean chaos magic," Wanda cut him off.

The sorcerer's eyes widened in shock. Wanda then held out her hand and the Darkhold appeared, much to Strange's shock and horror.

"Where… where did you get that?" he asked, his eyes never once leaving the book.

Wanda sighed. "It's a long story. Any chance you could listen over tea? The kettle is just boiled."

After making tea, Wanda and Strange sat down and discussed the events of Westview. She started to tell him about Vision, the hex, and her fantasy world.

Strange for his part was overwhelmed by the knowledge. He knew Wanda possessed psychic abilities but he never suspected she was a sorceress. There was something else though, the spell she enacted was not one an amateur could pull off.

"How did you enact something like that without an incantation?" he asked.

"I didn't mean to," she admitted sorrowfully. "I just… broke down. My parents died when I was young, I was experimented on, Pietro died, Vision died twice, Tony and Nat followed not long after, and then Steve was gone. Then I couldn't give Vision a funeral because of SWORD, who were dissecting him and trying to turn him into a weapon, and when I arrived at Westview at the place we would have lived I snapped." Tears were building in her eyes. "All of my grief manifested in my power creating my home, Vision, and altering the town and its people to follow a sitcom script."

Strange was remarkably silent. Strong emotions and magic could be an incredibly dangerous combination. In Wanda's case, who was untrained, the hex and reality altercations were a result of her trauma.

"When I had Vision back, and then my children, I didn't question anything. For the first time in a long time, I was happy, and I wanted it to stay that way," she continued. "I thought everyone was happy because that's how they looked. But they weren't, they were in agony because of what I was feeling. Families and friends were hurt deeply hurt because of my powers."

It hadn't been long, but she was haunted by the pain of the awakened townspeople. How they begged to see their loved ones, or to die, and how she accidentally choked them.

"Why couldn't you see into their minds?" Strange enquired. "Aren't you a telepath?"

"Unless I actively try to look inside a person's mind, I won't know what they are thinking or feeling," Wanda explained. "Under the hex, I thought they were all happy, so I didn't see a reason to look."

"There was nothing to arouse your suspicions?" Strange questioned. "I heard people tried to break in and talk with you. You even left once after SWORD attacked you."

"I don't know how but I knew about the hex, I think it was subconscious at first but after expelling Monica I became more aware of it and the people trying to break in," she said. "I thought they wanted to ruin everything and my family. I didn't realize I was the one making everyone in the town suffer, I would intentionally never do that." That wasn't entirely right she realised. "Vision at one point told me they were suffering under my control but I brushed it off because I didn't think it was possible for me to control everyone."

Strange raised an eyebrow.

"How come? You've controlled people before," he pointed out.

"Not that way," Wanda countered. "I knew I could control them, but not that way, and not on a scale that big. What happened at Westview, the hex, changing reality, controlling people without willing it, they are things I had never done before. I didn't even know I could."

There was a lot about her powers she didn't know or understand, more than she originally thought.

"What made you realize what was really going on?" Strange asked curious to understand the full situation.

"Agatha. She's a witch and she," Wanda started.

"Agatha Harkness!" Strange exclaimed. "She was there!"

This time it was Wanda's turn to be surprised. "You know her?"

"Know of her," Strange corrected. He took a sip of his tea. "She has a… reputation in the magical community for stealing certain sorcerers magic. I take it she's where you got the Darkhold from."

Wanda nodded.

"I didn't know what she was until the final day of the hex. I went into ger basement looking for my sons and came to a room surrounded by runes she had cast to stop me from using my powers. After going through my memories, I finally remembered how the hex started and Agatha held my children hostage," Wanda stopped herself short. If anyone knew about this, a sorcerer would. "Dr Strange, have you ever heard of the Scarlet Witch?"

Strange narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"I've only read about her in a few legends. She's supposed to be a myth, an extremely powerful sorceress capable of spontaneous creation. Her spells don't require incantation, nor does she belong to any coven. Why?" he asked.

"Agatha said I was her," Wanda answered.

Strange nearly dropped his cup because of the shock. Of all the things he expected to hear, this was not one.

"Are you sure?" he said softly but nervously. "Are you absolutely sure?"

If Wanda was what she claimed, if the legends were true, he would need to keep a close eye on her.

To prove her point, Wanda's clothes changed to her uniform.

"Yes, I am," she said. "That's why I came out here, why I've been reading the Darkhold, so I can learn more about my powers and maybe control them. If I do then no one else will get hurt in the future."

"Not to sound insensitive, but if you continue reading that book that is exactly what will happen," Strange stated bluntly.

Wanda shot him a glare but Strange wasn't having any of it.

"Listen to me Wanda the Book of Sins, or Damned depending on what you want to call it, is dangerous. Not just because of the spells and knowledge it contains but what it does to a person. The more someone reads it the more corrupted they become," he explained.

Even if he had not read it, he knew of its history. There had been rumours that it was found by SHIELD, and later it being used by a sorceress named Morgan Le Fey, but both ended badly.

"I don't have a choice," Wanda pleaded. "I don't know anything else about this, the book does. Also, Agatha told me I'm destined to destroy the world, but if I master my magic then maybe I won't."

Strange pondered carefully over his next course of action. He couldn't leave Wanda here alone with the Darkhold. On the other hand, he couldn't leave her here alone and untrained. That wouldn't end well for anyone.

Leaving him only one choice.

"What if I trained you then," Strange suggested.

Wanda's eyes widened in surprise.

"At Kamar-Taj where I and many other sorcerers trained, I could teach you," he started.

"No!" Wanda instantly declined. "Absolutely not."

"Why not?!" Strange demanded, baffled by her refusal. "You wouldn't be alone."

"THAT IS EXACTLY WHY!" Wanda screamed causing Strange to jump.

In response to her outburst, several objects were forced back or fell off their shelves. Strange tensed for a fight but that fear quickly went away when he saw Wanda's face.

She wore a pained expression as tears streamed down her face. She couldn't stop them, and she wasn't sure she wanted to.

"I-I'm sorry I shouldn't have yelled, I just," Wanda sobbed while Strange looked on in shock.

Glancing up from the table she stared into the doctor's eyes, tears still falling.

"I am dangerous," she said softly. "I am dangerous to everyone I am near. Those sorcerers, my friends, you." Strange could really hear the agony in her voice as she spoke. "Those people, Westview, were in pain for a week because of me. They followed a script, they couldn't think for themselves, they couldn't sleep, they couldn't see their loved ones, and when they weren't part of the script they were somewhere else, unable to anything." The memory of Sarah begging for her to let her daughter out just to hold her was still fresh in her mind, as was the memory of the residents begging to be released. "Children were locked away, while people received my nightmares and grief. What I did to those people was wrong, and what's worse is they will never recover from it, not fully." Wanda's clothes morphed back to what she was wearing previously. "Vision he, he told me what I was doing but I didn't believe him. It actually took Agatha freeing some of them for me to see how much pain they were in and."

She trailed off at the last part as she stared down at the table tears continuing to fall from her eyes.

"I can't risk being around people. I don't want a repeat of Westview," Wanda whispered softly. "I don't want to do that to anyone ever again. I would rather die."

That was the only way for people to be safe from her, from what she was and what she could do.

After Westview, she briefly considered going to her friends but quickly decided against it. Especially Clint. He had just gotten his family back, after losing them for five years. There was no way in hell she was going to risk their lives because of her own mistakes and problems. She couldn't do that to him, not after everything he had done for her.

As Wanda continued to cry, Stranges expression morphed into one of sympathy. He didn't agree with what she had done, but he could see she was racked with guilt from it, and it was tearing her apart from the inside.

Kneeling down, he pulled her into a hug which she surprisingly held onto. This wasn't the first time he had done something like this. When he was a surgeon, there had been moments when he consoled relatives of deceased patients. It was never easy, and it never got easier, but it was what it was.

After Wanda had calmed down Strange sat across her face to face.

"You won't lose control," he said firmly. "It will not be easy I can assure you. There will be small moments when you slip up. However, you will be able to control it. you have my word."

Wanda sighed softly.

"You truly believe it's a good idea for me to come with you, after everything I told you, after everything I have done?" she asked.

"Yes. You can't take back what you did Wanda," Strange replied. "You can only move forward and try and prevent something similar from happening in the future. The path to redemption is long and hard but it is possible."

Wanda contemplated his words carefully. If she did this, there would be no going back. She would have to commit fully. At the same time, she wanted to prevent another incident like Westview.

She remembered walking through the town after taking down the hex with her hood up. The scornful looks the townspeople gave, she had deserved. Despite what Monica said, she knew they would never forgive her, and honestly, part of her hoped they wouldn't.

As soon as she saw the pain they were in, what she was putting them through, she tried to take down the hex and free them. The only reason she had closed it again was that her family was slowly dying.

Vision, Tommy, Billy. She had been forced to say goodbye to them, this time for good. Even still she knew it was the right choice.

Monica had surprised her with her support. If Wanda had to guess, it was because she too lost the person closest to her and was grieving. Wherever she was now, Wanda hoped she was doing well.

She knew one thing though, she wanted control of her powers.

She didn't want her life to be a never-ending stream of tragedies.

She wanted to live for all the people who had helped throughout her life. Her parents, Pietro, Vision, her children, Clint, the other Avengers, and Monica. She owed them that much.

Above all, she wanted to be someone who helped others. Not the opposite.

She couldn't take back what she had done, but she could work to prevent other tragedies from befalling others.

With all of that in mind, Wanda made her choice.

"I will go with you," she finally answered. "However, I think it would be best if you inform your friends who I am first. I don't exactly have a perfect reputation, even before Westview."

"If you are referring to Lagos don't," Strange urged her. "I know about what happened. It wasn't your fault. Even though you couldn't stop the bomb, you are not the one who set it off."

"Even still, I think you should let them know," she replied, though part of her was touched he didn't blame her.

Strange got up and started to make a portal.

"Before you go, take this," Wanda said offering out the Darkhold. "As you said, it's dangerous. It should be put in a safe place."

Strange nodded and took the book from her. He was relieved she had accepted his offer and had given up the book (he could think of several places to contain such a dangerous object).

' _I'll try and help her in whatever way I can. She may be a bit more difficult than Peter,'_ Strange thought. _'Who knows? Maybe they'll become friends.'_

After he was gone, Wanda got her things ready. She wasn't taking much other than some clothes and objects that contained actual value to her.

When Strange returned she was ready.

"Before we leave there is one thing I forgot to ask. What happened to Agatha Harkness?" he asked puzzled.

"She's still at Westview," Wanda answered. "On the last day, we battled across town where she attempted to drain my magic. However, I used her rune spell against her on the barrier to render her powerless and take back my magic. When she was defeated, I decided to turn her into the role she had chosen, the nosy neighbour Agnes. Unlike before, I knew what I was doing this time, so she isn't in any pain."

Strange was both stunned and impressed that Wanda had managed to defeat Agatha all by herself. He did have some concerns about what Wanda put her under but he would check later.

"I see," he murmured softly. "Are you ready then?"

"Not really," Wanda admitted. "But I've made my choice, and I am sticking with it."

Strange didn't argue. He had been the same when he first started his journey. No one was really ever ready for these things but that didn't stope them from pushing forward.

Wanda stared at the portal in front of her. This was it. From here everything was up to her.

' _I can't change what I have done, but I can make sure it never happens again,'_ she decided. _'Everyone, watch me.'_

They walked through the portal leaving the cabin in the mountains empty.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! Well, what did you think of that?
> 
> I know I said I wasn't writing because of college but I really wanted to do this. I had some opinions about WandaVision which I wanted to express through this.
> 
> I like Wanda a lot and I thought this may be what she is going through right now.
> 
> Before I give my full opinion I want to make one thing abundantly clear. Regardless of what I say, I AM NOT JUSTIFYING WHAT WANDA DID!
> 
> What she did was wrong in so many ways, but at the same time I understand why it happened.
> 
> She lost so many people in her life that in moment she just unleashed all her grief which created the hex. She may not have intended for any of it to happen, but it still did.
> 
> Ever since the show ended, there have been many discussions about Wanda's level of control inside Westview. I don't think she actually knew she was controlling them, or that they were in pain.
> 
> Let me be clear, Wanda is fully aware she can control people and read minds because she has done it before. However, the scale on which she did it in Westview was something she had never done before, nor did she know she could do. In episode 5 when she told Vision she could control him like them, I think she was referring to the way she had done it before the hex. Unless she willed it to happen, it wasn't going to happen automatically, same with telepathy. This is why I don't think she knew the residents were suffering because she wasn't actively reading their minds. The minute she saw how badly they were affected she immediately tried to free them. The only reason she closed the hex again was that her family were disintegrating. That's just my opinion though.
> 
> Also, some say Wanda walked away scot-free, but she didn't. Her walk of shame through Westview as each of the residents glare at her was proof of this. Wanda knows they hate justifiably her, and they will likely never forgive her for the pain she caused. That's only the start though. An event like that isn't likely to stay silent, people will talk about their experiences and public resentment for Wanda will grow. Her already bad reputation will become worse and very few people will trust her in the future.
> 
> Wanda is going to have to face up to that, something she could never do in prison.
> 
> Regarding her sacrifice Monica mentioned, I believe it was Wanda's family she was talking about. Her children and Vision. She had to say goodbye to him (albeit in a much better manner) again and let them go to bring down the hex.
> 
> While I don't agree with what she did, when Agatha showed her the truth, Wanda had a choice. She could leave the townspeople as they were and let them suffer for it, or she could free them and put an end to her fantasy world. She chose the second because it was the right thing to do. The only reason she brought it back was that it was killing her family.
> 
> Regarding Monica, people questioned why she was so Team Scarlet Witch this season despite what Wanda put her through. I believe it was because she empathised with Wanda because she had lost her mother. Like Wanda, she was grieving. In the end, when she says if she had Wanda's power she would bring her mother, that is all she says. She would just bring her mother back, not do what Wanda did. Nothing more nothing less.
> 
> I am curious as to what role she will play in Captain Marvel 2 considering as of episode 5, it's pretty clear Monica does not have a high opinion of Carol now.
> 
> Everything Wanda did, she will have to live with for the rest of her life. I tried to show that in this story because I believe it's what she is going through.
> 
> While nothing justifies what she did, I do understand why it happened in the first place.
> 
> On a side note, did anyone else think Hayward and SWORD provoking her was fucking stupid!? This is the woman who singlehandedly beat Thanos all by herself (until he called in a strike) and controlled several people at once. She is not someone you can beat that easily.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this ONE-SHOT. I enjoyed writing it. I also hope the characters were in character. While I don't know Strange's full history, I think he may have had moments when he consoled relatives of patients he couldn't save.
> 
> Please let me know what you think!


End file.
